Collapsible or folding infant&#39;s auto seat



Feb. 8, 1949. T. H. BONK 2,461,367

COLLAPSIBLE OR FOLDING INFANTS AUTO SEAT Filed June 10, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l i -z Q 7 4 airl 8 ii; i

Feb. 8,1949. T. H. BONK 2,461,367

COLLAPSIBLE OR FOLDING INFANTS AUTO SEAT Filed June 10, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 8, 1949 COLLABSIBLE R FOLDING INFANTZS AUTOSEA'L Thwdmfl! Hl mant e-cc ApplicationJunelO, 1946, Serial-No. 675,759.

This invention relates to a childs collapsible carrier of the type for carrying a child in'a safe ma r n a ehi l -Q The carrier of mv invention may be either in the nature of a childs seat or in the nature of a fi t-bsi im bein as apted to be s egured tQ ha c ririe by the, cpny' p jpyaigsgngeg g f l t ssnser've ei 1 v .4 v f Among theobj ects ofthis inventionare to provide a frame, the Structural characteristicsfof whi il .be ubstaniia ly s m rh l device, infinal forth; is in the nature ofachildb se t Q1. n n a'nt bQ i 9 o m v 1115bnv the connection between t the frame structure per se apd the supporting hooks therefor, to" the end 3;

that such hooks may be "readily movd to a 'posi tion of 'useior securing the device in nlaceon the automobile pass(anger seat orto a fol ded'nosi tion oi rest aswhe'n the device is'collaiqsed for Cllb or cot for carryina an infant, the deviceiinf crib and iillustrat n l urthc rann i a iono e.

storage or carrying 'piirpos'es';"to'pi'ovid'ior device of the, character mentiohed, a frani'istriic ture so designed and the fulcrumed boints' 'oi which areof such afcharacter andsolcatd that the. desired maximum stiffne s is 'attairiedwith 1 ?exclusive xvork; 'toprovide'a device that is inexpensive andilehds itself i ea'clilytciquantiti production; a wide range" of adjustabilitvarid which will otherwise mes-rant: the'reciuiremefits' of a device of this een' a character; The invention together with the" stated and other bjects as will present themselves herein after; will'be best understood from'the follovjifig detailed describtiqnread in referenceto the accompanying drawings in which 'areillustrated what are presently consideredi'nreferred ments of the invention and wherein;

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a childs colenab e. s ri is"twenties' ith?ar ant invention;

"E eu i 2; l der ew t e s at h e a Paris br ken. a ay a shew l s e h illustratiii [an applicationofthe inyhtioh; H s e '31 a re eren re v ew. i ihefframe im ure cntemelat d by. he r l structure being shown in fully extended can; X a.

Ei ure s a enlarged fra mentary ta a a' liview f rm rQfH Wfl HIS- fafingL a w v c inn,ectiOI. fo;ijIii ig a salient feature or the i'nvehtiom Figure '5; s a fra mentary ho izonta s q iina iew? taken substantially ea t -e" me or figured; V H F u e 6 e Psi-swine new at a ecl a silqls 3 Claims. o1. 79).

invention;

Figure 7is,a fragmentarylpitrspective view illustratin' a modified form fi twi elon eciieh; and

FigureSis a fragmentary detail horizontal sec tion taken substantially on the line 8 -8 or Figure 7. 7

Whether the device of the invention be inthe form of a childfs seat as su geifited in Figures 1 j and 2, or in the nature of, a crib as suggested v Figure 6, the. same comprises essentiallyairame structure such as illustrated in Figure 3.

Referring nowoin detail to Figure '3, it will be seen that? the, frame, structure therein illustratedcomprises what'may be. termed a horizontal frame [0- madeofssteelstrip bent to form a substantially rectangular frame, open at one, side. Atthe open side" of: the frame, 'the'members l,i:-H 'th ereof are 'fo'rmed'with angularly'disposed terminals [2 adapted; when the device is in, use, to abut or lie against the front surface, I3 of the back rest [4" ofthe conventionalseat l5 of, a motor'passenger vehicle;

one reference numeral I6 indicates generally a vertical or back frame made of. galvanized, iron wire. This frame .lfi is substantially? rectangular and themembers l 1.-JI l thereof; have terminals 11A that are laterally displaced. relative thereto and" connected therewith by o'fisets it. The ofisetterminals HA merge into or have formed integrall'y" therewith pintlesl 9 that are journaled in bearing openings in the members H. of, frame It adjacent the ends 12 of said members HA. lhus it 'Will be seen that framesflfl and H1 are pivotally connected. to fold relativeto one another. As will be apparent from the foregoing, the device of this invention is adaptedto be supported by the seat of the automobile, and' to that end. there are provided hooks 20 -20. that are adapted to hook over the top of the back l' lfofvth'e automobile seat as shown to advantage in Figure 2. "Hooks 2.6 are constructed from steel strip and. the shanks there of at their free terminalsare formed withinteg'ral right angularly" 'disposed"apertured lugs" 25; through which'the'offset endsllA of frame 58 ar trained. -Each hookzflis'also provided at 'a point thereon adjacent to thelug" 2| with'an In the form of the invention illustratedin Figures i and 5, the eye 22 issubstantially'oval and er'h'brace's'the shank of the hook20 in themanner clearly shown in rigure s; Eye" 22 is fixed on" the v tured lug 2| in a manner to accommodate the offset end A of the proximate frame member [1. Thus it will be seen that the elements HA, 2| and 22 effectively cooperate to provide an efficient swivel connection between a hook 2i! and the proximate frame member I! whereby said hook 20 is free to rotate about the frame terminal HA as an axis. This just described swivel connection constitutes a salient feature of this invention and through the medium of the same, the hooks 20 may be readily rotated to a position facilitating the engagement thereof with the back rest of the automobile seat, and also may be as,

conveniently rotated from such position to fold against the back of the structure when the latter is in a fully collapsed condition for storage or similar purposes.

In Figures '7 and 8, an alternate form of swivel or hinge connection is illustrated. As shown in said figures, the mentioned connection is in the form of a pair of vertically spaced cotter pins 23, 24 carried by the hook therein indicated by the reference numeral HA. The cotter pins 23, 24 are disposed adjacent the lower or free end of the shank of the hook, and to accommodate the cotterpins, said shank is provided with vertically spaced apertures or holes 25.

As shown in Figure 8, each cotter pin is secured to the shank of a hook 2!! by having the legs thereof passed through a hole 25 from one side of the shank and then spread as shown. Preferably the legs of the cotter pin are such a length that the free terminals thereof, when the pin is spread in the manner just mentioned, may be bent into engagement with the edges of the hook shank thus preventing rotative movement of the cotter pin. In this manner, the eyes of the cotter pins are in constant alignment and retained against undesirable frictional contact with the offset end of the proximate frame member (1, and to which the hook is pivotally connected by having said offset end of the frame member trained through the eyes of the cotter pins 23, 24, and as shown in Figure 7.

To retain the horizontal frame it in horizontal position when the device is in use, and in the desired position as to height above the automobile seat proper, there are provided lengths of chains 26-48. Each chain 26'has one end link thereof sleeved on the offset [8 whereby said one end of the chain is connected with the back frame [6. The other end of the chain is trained through an opening 21 provided therefor in the member 9 of frame It, and said end of the chain is equipped with a clasp 28 in the form of a resilient split ring or link (Figures 3 and 6) that is engageable with a selected intermediate link in the chain for securing the frame ID at the desired angular adjustment with respect to the back frame 5, and consequently at the desired elevation with respect to the automobile seat.

To secure the frame [0 at the desired adjustment as and for the purpose stated in the precedthe seat of the assembly, as where the device is to serve as a childs seat (see Figures 1 and 2), or to form an infants cot or crib as where the device is to be used as such (see Figure 6).

The cloth 38, as shown, has certain of its edges secured to the members 9 and H of frame 10 and other of its edges secured to the members 8 and i! of frame it. The edges of the cloth may be secured to the mentioned frame members in any suitable manner such as by having said edges provided with seams through which the frame members are threaded, and as will be fully appreciated by those skilled in this art.

Where the device is to serve as a childs seat, the cloth 30 will be provided with suitable apertures to form openings 3! for the childs legs. Also when the device partakes of the nature of a seat, a removable seat pad 32 may be employed to obvious advantage.

From the preceding description, it will be seen that the only differences between the device when constructed for use as a childs seat, and when constructed for use as an infants cot or crib, are in the dimensions of the several parts of the device and in the provision or omission of openings 3|.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the device of this invention lends itself to mass production either as a childs seat or an infants 7 cot or crib; may be readily applied to a vehicle seat in the manner indicated in the drawings; is capable of being easily collapsed or extended, and when not actually in use, may be readily folded neatly and compactly against the back rest of 5 the automobile seat,

and when extended for use provides support for the child or infant that is comfortable and capable of adjustment to accord maximum comfort and protection for the occur pant of the device. Also by reason of the manner in which the suspension hooks of the device are connected to the frame, the hooks can be readily shifted relative to the frame into either a position for engagement over the back rest of the automobile seat, or into a folded position against the back of the collapsed device. Because of this latter feature, the entire structure when folded presents substantially a flat compact article which can be stored conveniently on either the floor or the seat of the automobile.

While I have described my invention in detail in its preferred embodiments, it will of course be understood that such has been done for purposes of illustration only and not for purposes of limitation, and therefore only such limitations are 85 to be imposed thereon as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a portable childs carrier of the type designed for use in connection with the passenger 6b seat of an automobile, a back frame having vertiing paragraph, the clasp-equipped ends of the which the offsetportion of theframe member is chains are drawn through the openings 2'! in the member 9 and then bent back upon themselves to permit the clasps to be readily engaged with selected intermediate links of the chains.

If desired, and as shown, each chain 26 may be equipped with ornaments 29 of any desired connection, and preferably which will be of an attractive character, having in mind the purpose for which the device is designed. To the frames Ill and I6 is'secured a piece of canvas or other suit- 75 with respect thereto and connected therewith by able cloth 30 cut to proper shape to form either cal side members each of which is provided with a lateral offset portion, and a supporting hook provided with fixed eyes spaced apart longitudinally of the shank of the hook and through trained to provide a swivel connection between the hook and frame member.

2. A childs carrier comprising a cloth-supporting frame structure comprising back and horizontal frames pivoted together, the horizontal frame integral offsets above the pivoted connection between the frames, a supporting hook associated with each of the mentioned opposed members of the back frame, and each supporting hook having thereon a pair of aligned hinge eyes embrac ing the terminal of the proximate back frame member.

3. In a childs carrier for use in connection with the passenger seat of an automobile, hingedly connected back and horizontal and frame members, said back frame member having sides, each provided with a laterally extending offset merging into a terminal portion for the respective sides, supporting hooks swivelly connected with the terminal portions of said sides, and chains having links engaged with said offset portions of said sides and retained against displacement by the cooperative action of said sides and the swivel connections between the supporting hooks and terminals, said chains having free'end portions trained through openings provided therefor in the horizontal frame member, and clasps on the terminals of said free end portions, said end portions of said chains being adapted to be drawn through the said openings and bentback for engaging said clasps with selected intermediate links in the chains to secure said horizontal frame member at selected positions of angular adjustment with respect to said back frame.

, THEODORE H. BONK.

REFERENCES CITED The iollewing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

